Chiefs on rise in PFF’s Week 13 NFL Power Rankings

Week 12 of the NFL season has come and gone, and with it, a new week’s worth of grades are in the Pro Football Focus database.

PFF’s Power Rankings are based off of Senior Analyst Sam Monson’s ordering of all 32 NFL teams, offenses, and defenses. He uses PFF’s overall cumulative grades as a starting point, and makes necessary subjective adjustments to account for things that aren’t captured in the grading system, such as injuries.

With five weeks of play remaining this season, the top three spots in PFFs’ Power Rankings are starting to take hold, with the Cowboys, Patriots, and Raiders maintaining their positions, respectively. After starting the year with a loss to the New York Giants, Dallas has put together 10 straight wins, with another solid performance from rookie Dak Prescott on Thanksgiving Day.

Through Week 12, Prescott has earned the 11th-highest overall grade among quarterbacks, just ahead of NFC East rival Kirk Cousins. The former Mississippi State Bulldog’s adjusted completion percentage this season is 12th in the league, while he’s been one of the more accurate QBs under pressure (sixth in that regard, just behind Russell Wilson).

While the Dallas offense continued to roll against Washington in Week 12, the defense took a small step back in our rankings, dropping from No. 19 to No. 23 after surrendering 26 points to Cousins and company. While linebacker Sean Lee produced arguably his best effort of the season, much of the defensive line (outside of Cedric Thornton) struggled against the Redskins.

The Kansas City Chiefs are among the risers this week, moving from No. 8 to No. 6 after their overtime win over the Broncos on Sunday night. Edge defender Justin Houston showed just how dominant he can be when healthy, recording nine QB pressures on Denver quarterback Trevor Siemian. That mark was bested by only one other 3-4 OLB in Week 12—Von Miller, with 10 pressures on Alex Smith.

Following the Eagles’ Monday night loss to the Packers, Philadelphia slides from No. 9 to No. 13. Through Week 6, it seemed that Carson Wentz was a legitimate Rookie of the Year candidate. From Week 7 and on, however, the former North Dakota State Bison’s play has taken a turn for the worse, failing even to capitalize against what had been a struggling Green Bay unit in Week 12.

Chase is a General Editor at PFF, focusing on the site’s NFL content strategy. His work has been featured in ESPN The Magazine, ESPN Insider, and The Cincinnati Enquirer. Follow @ChaseHowellPFF

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It’s interesting to observe that among the top 10 ranked teams only the Patriots seem to have a reasonable balance between offense and defense. The NFC East has improved dramatically over last year but listing the entire division in the top 13 might be a bit of a stretch.